It's that time of year again, filled with holidays of all sorts, jacket weather. When you head out to an opening, it will certainly be as dark as midnight even if it's 4pm. Some of the galleries are packing up for Art Basel Miami, and some are boarding up for winter. With so many distractions, plus the urge to hibernate, how will the art world keep our attention here in NY? The Winter group show! That's right! you and thirty of your closest friends will be exhibiting in a gallery near you, and just in time for those seasonal presents you might be pondering.

At last count there were more than a dozen exhibitions opening in November and December in Brooklyn that feature more than fifteen artists. That means that in a jaunt around Brooklyn you might possibly see works by more than 180 artists. So you might just consider cancelling that trip to Miami and sticking around here.

In Red Hook the venerable Kentler International Drawing Space is celebrating a quarter of a century in business with a show chock-full of stalwarts of the Brooklyn art community.

In Williamsburg, Figureworks is opening "Life Drawings," featuring works from the weekly Saturday morning sessions that it has held for over fifteen years (for artists who don't sleep in Saturday morning and then go directly out to brunch). Pierogi has a group exhibition titled "Identities," with portraits and narrative works centered around the concept of identity, with works by the crowd-pleasing artists that you'd expect from Pierogi.

This Fall Greenpoint definitely takes the prize for best show titles, with "Calicornicopia 4" opening at Calico and "The Show Me State" opening at Auxiliary. "Calucornicopia 4" is Calico's annual holiday show, featuring reasonably priced artworks aimed at the seasonal audiences. "The Show Me State" is a delightful exhibition built on the themes of desire and display (and having absolutely nothing to do with Missouri).

In BushwickTSA (Tiger Strikes Astroid) pulls open their drawers again for "Flat Files: Year Three" with 33 artists selected from an open call and working in all mediums. Be sure not to miss "Volume 2: Black & White," which is still up through December 6th at Schema Projects, and was curated by Mary Judge and WAGMAG's very own Enrico Gomez. "Volume:2" explores the ways in which artists respond to paper and transform it from the 2 dimensional into the 3 dimensional in innovative and engaging ways. Wayfarers opens it's "Family Album" in December, displaying the artists that have been near and dear to them in the past 5 years.

In DumboMinus Space presents "Fiber Optic," featuring artists working on the intersection of geometry and fiber and brings together a multi-generational cast of artists from across the country. "Subtle Interchange" at NARS Foundation in Sunset Park features selections from the works of its season IV artists in its residency program.

And again this year Open Source Gallery in Park Slope will host it's December "Soup Kitchen," in which artists are invited to cook dinner and present artwork (visual, performance, music) for all comers. Open Source does this EVERY NIGHT in December. It's just crazy, and crazy fun! Be sure to dress warmly though.